Carrier electrolytic process for recovery of uranium from solutions thereof



July 1, 1958 ETAL URANIUM FROM SOLUTIONS THEREOF' Filed Sept. 8, 1950 I BKKEN /F /Vfcfssme y United States CARRIER ELEcrRoLYrrc PROCESS FoR RE- covsRY or URANIUM FROM soLUrIoNs f inmunes s Y Y Y Application September-,8, 1950, SerialNo. 183,914

Claims priority, application Union of South Africa i September 20, 1949 This invention relates to the separation and recovery of uranium compounds from solutions containing impurities such as are found in the acid leach liquors which are typilied by those obtained by the leaching of auv uranium-bearing ore with sulphuric acid and ferrie Vsulphate. This invention, however, is not limited by the manner in which the uranium-bearing solutions are obtained or the impurities therein, as it may be utilized on any uranium-bearing solution irrespective of the source, provided that the lixiviants usedare such that they will not destroy the necessary apparatus.A

Heretofore, the dilferential separation of uranium from various constituents found in leach solutions has been diicult, requiring expensive chemical reagents, and furthermore the recoveries have not always been satisfactory. The known method of recovering uranium from a leaching solution containing such elements as, alu-Y minum, Vanadium, silicon, iron, calcium, magnesia, nickel, cobalt, zinc, manganese, sodium, potassium and others, is to co-precipitate the uranium as 'a hydroxide together with those elements whose chemical properties are such that they form insoluble hydroxides in'the pH range from 2.0 to 6.0. The alkalis Vcommonly used for effecting the precipitations 'are lime, magnesia, sodium, potassium and ammonium .hydroxides The separation of the uranium from the resultant mixed hydroxide precipitate is, however, costly and requires many purificationV steps to produce a high grade uranium product, particularly if the solution originally precipitated was derived from a low-grade ore. l

Hitherto it has not been considered practicable to separate or produce uranium from uranium-bearing solutions by electrolytic methods because of the impossibility of depositing uranium metal .from aqueous solutions, and the great diiculty in producing on a commercial scale, an oxide or hydratedv oxide at one of the electrodes.

It has now been found thatr uranium canin fact be almost completely recovered fromaqueous acid solutions by electrolytic methods provided certain conditions and reagents are present during electrolysis.

According to the invention a method or process is providedin which the solution to be treated for the selective recovery of uranium is vsubjected to electrolysis within a pH range ofthe order of 0.5 to 6.0 with the aid of cation carriers effective in causing deposition of uranium compound therewith on and/ or in the vicinity of the negative electrode. I k

Such compound of uranium may itself be producedby any suitable anion action in the solution under treatment.

The invention further comprises preparation of the solution to be subjected to electrolysis, by introduction thereto of a carrier metal ion (cation) and/ or an anion,

e. g. by addition of copper as sulphate and/or phosphate ion (P04) as H3PO4. A molar ratio of uranium to phosphate of the order of l to 5 is preferred:

The process may comprise two' prlnclpal and consectent O utive stages viz. for reduction of ferrie iron to ferrous vstate after introduction of anion,"and continued elec'- trolysis after suitable carrier-ion concentration adjustment; whereupon sludge and/oi cathode deposit provide the uranium product for subsequent uraniumrecovery treatment of a simple kind.

It is within the scope of the invention `also to employ this electrolytic method as an' alternative to or in con'- junction with Ythe invention set forth in co-pending U. S. patent application' Serial No. 183,913, led on even date herewith, e. g; for obtaining further uranium recovery from a solution preliminarily treated according to'that invention. The latter, briey stated, discloses the treatment of a uranium-bearing solution with (a) a nely divided adsorbent material, followed by (b) addition of a metallic reducing agent, and (c) by removal of th resultant precipitates from the solution.

' -Other' features of the invention will be clear from the following description'which includesl specific illustrative examples. Y

This removal of uranium from solution can be accomplished at any selected point or sub-range within the pH range from 0.5 to 6.0, which range is determined by considerationsof avoiding general precipitation condi tions on the one hand, and on the other, conditions pro-` ductive of redissolving. The selected operating pH con-- ditions will depend on the nature of the impurities in the solutions from which the uranium separation is to be made.

The uranium compound which is co-deposited, prob ably by sorption on `the carrier metal surface, m-ay be produced by the presence, if necessary by addition, of any suitable anion which will produce colloidal solutions or suitable conditions in the selected pH range for collection of the uranium. The anions economically suited include phosphates, arsenates, hydroxides and carbonates.

The metal cation used as a carrier may be' any of those elements e. g. Cu, Cd, Co, Ni, Au, Ag, Zn, Bi, Sb, As, Fe, which can be electrolytically deposited on the cathode at theY pH range selected, and according to the type -and/ or constitution of ,the solution from which the uranium is tobe recovered.

The electrolyticVv 'procedure used in obtaining Vthey uranium `precipitate preferably comprises the employment of a diaphragm cell in which the cathode compartment is separated'from the anode compartment by a porous ceramic or other suitable membrane. The uranium-bearing solution surrounds the cathode, which may be of any suitable material, e. g. Pb or Cu, whose overvoltage is such that the cation selected as a carrier can be deposited onV it inthe metallic form. The'anode which can also be of any suitable material which will withstand oxidising conditions is surrounded by any electrolyte. trodes are connected to any low voltage source of direct current, and when current ispassed through the cell areducing action takes placeat the cathode and uranium l ions and the Ametallic carrier ions migrate toward the negative pole.`v The carrier is deposited as metal, preferably controlled so as to appear in a finely divided state,

and during the deposition, entrains or captures the ura-` A high grade uranium product may be recovered from the said product by any of several moreor less conventional methods which will depend on the type or nature The elecof carrier metal selected to remove the uranium from the solution and the condition in which it deposits.

This invention of selectively removing uranium from solution is illustrated in greater detail in the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1 To illustrate the effect of the addition of a metal carrier ion to a uranium-bearing solution the following two tests were made:

250 ml. of a uranium solution containing 0.85 g. U3O8 per litre, as sulphate, were electrolyzed for 3 hours in the cathode compartment of `a diaphragm electrolytic cell using a sheet lead cathode and a sheet lead anode. The voltage applied amounted to 4 volts and the current density was 24 amps. per square foot. y

In Test 1, no additions of any chemicals were made to promote the recovery of uranium. Thes pH of the solution during electrolysis varied from pH 1.15 to pH 2.30. After 3 hours the spent electrolyte or catholyte was withdrawn and iiltered and analyzed for uranium.

In Test 2, a similar quantity of the same uranium solution was then placed in the cathode compartment of the cell together with 0.25 g. of Cu which was added as copper sulphate, and electrolysed under exactly the same The effect of the cation and anion addition to improve the result is shown in the following two further tests:

In Test 3, the same starting solution as in Example 1 was electrolysed under the same conditions as above, except that to the uranium-bearing solution the equivalent of 0.5 grms. PO4ion as H3PO4 were added with no cation carrier. The ,pH during electrolysis varied from pH 1.15 to 1.80.

In Test 4, the same amount of phosphate was added plus 0.25 gms. Cu as copper sulphate. The results obtained in these further tests are given in the following table:`

The above four tests illustrate the beneicial effects of both anion and cation addition to the electrolyte, particularly as respects the cation.

EXAMPLE 3 Separationl of uranium from a solution containing other elements.

In Tests 5 and 6 solutions having the following composition were used.

'Test 5 .--The leach solution used was derived from one partgcular ore and had the followinganalyss (grams per itre and a pH of 2.2. Minor constituents of the solution included Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, V, Ti, and the uranium content of the said solution was 0.154 g./l.

Test 6.-The composition of the solution derived from another ore had the following analysis (grams per litre):

Fe 6.00 Al 0.6

sio2 0.6

P04 0.11 Mg 2.53 Ca 0.60

and a pI-I of 2.0.

Minor constituents included Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, V and Ti, and the uranium content of the solution was 0.0903

4In both these tests the solution formed the catholyte, and enough phosphate ion was added as phosphoric acid to give a molar ratio Vof uranium to phosphate of 1 to 5. Current was applied using 4 volts and 24 amps. per sq. ft, and electrolysis was continued until a negative -test for ferrie iron was obtained, because at theV cathode any iron present in the original solution as ferric, is reduced to the ferrous state. In both Tests 5 and 6 the iron reduction took approximately 2 hours to complete. At the end of this period Cu as CuSO.,L was added to 4the solution to give Va concentration of 1 gram per litre The electrolysisV was then continued for a period of one hour by which time all thecopper had been deposited. The spent electrolyte was withdrawn, iiltered and analysed. The cathode deposit which contained copper and uranium was also analysed.

The results are given in the following 4table:-

Y Test N o. 5. Test No. 6.

Feed solution Spent electrolyte V(catholyte) Final pH spent electrolyte (catholyte) 1.75 Percent recovery UrOa 9 0.154 g. p. l.

UzOs.

0.0026 g. p. l.

Us a.

0.0903 g. p. l.

UxOs.

0.0013 g. p l.

Analyses of the precipitates showed that they contained Cu, P04 and U3O8 with only very minute quantities of contaminants present in the feed electrolyte.

The following is an example of a complete al1-electrolytic process using recycling of the precipitated copper for conservation of reagents. In this process the recycled copper product after uranium removal, has a dual punpose, namely (a) to reduce the ferrie iron to the ferrous state and thereby conserve electric current, and (b) 'to supply the soluble copper necessary for the electrolytic deposition.

The reaction taking place is explained by the following chemical equation:

Four electrolytic cells were used. The lrst two vessels were an agitator and a settler respectively. 'Ihe volume of the complete circuit was 2,400 ml.

Cement copper was fed into the agitator to reduce ferrie iron and to introduce copper into solution Unreacted copper `wascaught in the second vessel. Phosphoric acid and copper sulphate were fed in suit' ably, i. e., to provide the aforementioned molar ratio and concentration, respectively.

Flow rates of the pregnant solution were varied from 600 ml. per hour to 1,200 ml. per hour. In test P10/ 6B the cement copper feed was increased from approximately the theoretical quantity necessary to reduce the ferrie iron to a five-fold excess, current density was increased and the solution in the cells was agitated with a stream of nitrogen. Results and data are summarised in Table B.

TABLE B [Series P/lO] Head Soln.:

pH 2. 1 CEc-H+ g. 0. 34 Fe++ e 4. B Total Fe g./l 5. 14 UaOs E /l 0.1847 Duration 0f Test, hours 9 Volume treated, ml 5078 Flow rate, ml.lhr 564 Barren Solution: 2 1 Total Fe 4. s Usos a g Il 0.0038 Total voiume m1. (includes reagents)- 5490 Flow rate, mlJhr-. 610 Voltage per nell 4. 5 Amperage per square toot.- 6. 85 Total cathode area, sq. ft- 0. 58 Cu feed as cement Cu., g. 1. 75 Ou dissolved by ferrie iron. 0f se 0. 938 0. 021 0. 917 97. 8

The ow sheet on Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing illustrates this process.

These results indicate the efficiency of the process and show that it can have lmany applications to the separation of uranium from other elements. -It may find particular applications to the recovery of uranium from solutions derived from low-grade and complex ores, and also be applied with adaptations or adjustments to the separation and/or plutonium from other reaction products resulting from the operation of the atomic pile.

As already indicated electrolytic methods of the kind described may be applied as an alternative to, or in combination with methods according to the aforementioned co-pending patent application. For example, the latter may deal particularly -with the ferrie-iron reduction and partial extraction of uranium from the pregnant solution, the eiiiuent becoming the solution for electrolytic treatment as hereinbefore described, if only for scavenging purposes. Initial and running costs of the respective processes and other factors such as the importance or unimportance of by-products, may determine the economical worth of such a combination, and the shares to be borne by the respective processes in the overall recovery.k Singly or in combination the said two processes may be arranged for continuous or cyclic operation, e. g. returning eiluent and/ or part-spent liquors if necessary through regenerative stages to earlier stages, as may make for a high plant eiciency. K

The flow sheet shown on Fig.y 2 of the drawings is illustrative of a combined process embodying the subject of our co-pending patent application and the substance of the present invention.

What we claim is:

l. A process for the selective preparation and recovery of uranium compound from a solution containing uranium lvalues, which comprises subjecting the solution to be treated to electrolysis within a pH range of about 0.5 to 6.0 in the presence in the solution being electrolyzed of a cation carrier selected from the group consisting ofy Cu, Cd, Ni, Au, Ag, Zn, lBi, Sb, As and Fe cations and also of an anion selected from the group consisting of phosphate,- arsenate, hydroxide and carbonate ions, Whereby said cation is deposited at the negative electrode in free form as linely divided metal and, concomitantly therewith, the uranium is deposited in combined form as uranium compound.

2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of uranium to anion in said solution is about 1 to 5. Y

the solution during electrolysis Ivaries from about 1.15 to Y about 2.30.

6. A process according to claim 1, wherein the pH of the solution during electrolysis varies from 1.15 to 1.80, the cation carrier is Cu, and the initial solution also contains phosphate anion.

7. A process according to claim 1, whereinV the pH of the solution during electrolysis varies from 1.75 to 2.0, the cation carrier is Cu, and the initial solution also contains phosphate anion.

References Cited in the iile of this patent Nichols: Electrolytic Reduction of Uranyl lIon, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission declassified document VMDDC-65t3, 10 pages, 4 drawings. Declassiied Jan. 29V

IBennettz The Volumetric Determination of Uranium Y in Highly Ferriferous Ores, I ournalv of the Am.Chem;

Soc., vol. 56, pages 277-280 1934) A(pages 277 and 288 particularly relied upon). 

1. A PROCESS FOR THE SELECTIVE PREPARATION AND RECOVERY OF URANIUM COMPOUND FROM A SOLUTION CONTAINING URANIUM VALUES, WHICH COMPRISES SUBJECTING THE SOLUTION TO BE TREATED TO ELECTROLYSIS WITHIN A PH RANGE OF ABOUT 0.5 TO 6.0 IN THE PRESENCE IN THE SOLUTION BEING ELECTROLYZED OF A CATION CARRIER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CU, CD, NI, AU, AG, ZN, BI, SB, AS AND FE CATIONS AND ALSO OF AN ANION SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF PHOSPHATE, ARSENATE, HYDROXIDE AND CARBONATE IONS, WHEREBY SAID CATION IS DEPOSITED AT THE NEGATIVE ELECTRODE IN FREE FORM AS FINELY DIVIDED METAL AND, CONCOMITANTLY THEREWITH, THE URANIUM IS DEPOSITED IN COMBINED FORM AS URANIUM COMPOUND. 